VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach man who coerced two 14-year-old girls into creating child sexual abuse materials and fled the state while on bond has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Justin Whichard, 24, pleaded guilty in November to charges related to sextorting the teens in 2023, in addition to possession of dozens of images and video of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Authorities say his CSAM material included infants and toddlers and more than 100 animated child exploitative material.
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Whichard was initially investigated for ordering a machine gun conversion device online, and when searching his residence in July 2023, authorities found the CSAM.
The investigation uncovered that Whichard had begun a relationship with a "romantic and sexual dynamic" with the teens, both 14 at the time, online, and then threatened to tell their parents if they didn't send CSAM. He also used the CSAM, pretending to be a teen, in attempts to extort an adult for money.
Whichard fled Virginia while on bond and was eventually picked up in Tennessee in March 2024.
